Dama and Roney joined me for the start of the dive but would be swimming directly to Big Rock so I wouldn't have their company for the dive.
It was very calm at The Leap and I was able to get in from the low platform. The swell directly in front of the low platform was perhaps 30-45cm. We grouped on the surface and then descended. I swam at around 60° to the sand line and arrived at the north-western end of the amphitheatre. Visibility was around 10 metres, water temperature around 16°C and there was very little surge. I turned left and headed towards The Steps.
When I got to Ian's Pygmy Rock I looked for and found the little red female pygmy pipehorse. It was calm and photographing her was easy. I looked to see if there was a male and found one nearby.
I swam past Seahorse Rock and on to the large rocks before Bent Stick Rock. I found the male weedy seadragon with the piece missing from his head under the overhang where he's been for the last 2 dives. I noticed the school of striped catfish under the next rock. I found the other male whose eggs have started to hatch just out from the overhang.
Just below Bent Stick Rock I found a smaller weedy.
I swam on to Southern Cross Rock and started to look for pygmy pipehorses. I found a cryptic female and then a pinkish male nearby. I then found another cryptic female and a pinkish female. Finally I found the yellowish male.
I continued on to Seadragon Alley and found one weedy seadragon near the start. At the end of Seadragon Alley I found the male pygmy pipehorse pretty much where he'd been on Monday. I initially couldn't find the female but then found her at the other end of the rock.
A little further on I found the two red widebody pipefish. They were still in the same alga as Monday.
Between the pipefish and Big Rock I found another weedy seadragon.
At Big Rock I found my red male pygmy pipehorse down from where I'd first seen him. I then looked for a female and found a pretty pink one not far from the male. I then looked at the other end of Big Rock for Roney's male pygmy pipehorse and partner. I found the male quite quickly but it took me some time to find the female.
I swam down to the rock below Hand Rock and found the black painted angler on top of the rock. I also found a male and female pygmy pipehorse lower down on the rock behind the white honeycomb sponges.
I headed along the reef towards The Steps and then up to New Basket Star Rock. The basket star was on its usual sponge. I had a quick look for red widebody pipefish before making my way to Diversity Rock. On Diversity Rock I found the female pygmy pipehorse and had a hard time finding the male. I eventually found him. He was the 17th pygmy pipehorse I'd seen on the dive.
I swam on to Little Big Rock hoping to find my pygmy pipehorses to add to my tally but couldn't find any. On the rock adjacent to Little Big Rock I found the yellow red-fingered angler in the exact same spot it has been for the last few weeks.
I continued along the reef to the rock where the larger black painted angler has been. Yesterday it had moved 2 rocks closer to Little Big Rock and I checked there first. I saw a cuttlefish and took a couple of photos and then was basically pushed out of the way by another diver with a camera who wanted to take photos of the cuttlefish which was swimming with two others. He then lay all over the rocks where the angler had been. I had to wait for him to move before I could look for the angler. The angler was back to the same spot it was when Roney first spotted it.
I followed the sand line to the other pair of red widebody pipefish and they were both there. As I was taking photos the pushing other diver and his buddies swam by so I was careful not to let them see what I was photographing.
From here I swam to the boulders via Di's Rock. On reaching the boulders I ascended to 5 metres and started my safety stop while swimming to Spit Rock. I finished my safety stop and then swam to the exit where Roney was waiting to take my camera. The exit was easy despite the extra weight of the pony. |
